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Biographical  Sketch. 


BY    E,    A.    CALKINS, 

SENIOR  EDITOR  OF  THE  MILWAUKEE  SUNDAY  TELEGRAPH,  AND   HONORARY  MEMBER  OF  THE 
WISCONSIN  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY. 


The  following  biographical  sketch  of  Hon.  Philo  White,  a 
prominent  early  settler  in  Wisconsin,  conspicuous  also  in  the 
general  politics  and  public  service  of  the  country,  was  prepared 
for  the  columns  of  the  Milwaukee  Sunday  Telegraph,  by  one 
of  its  editors,  from  facts  and  data  which  he  procured  relating  to 
the  subject,  and  was  published  in  that  paper  of  April  18,  1S80. 
The  writer  of  the  sketch,  regarding  it  as  a  collection  of  matters 
of  pioneer  history,  and  of  events  of  general  interest  worth  being 
placed  in  a  form  more  convenient  for  preservation  than  the  files 
of  a  newspaper,  has  caused  the  present  re-pi"intto  be  made,  with 
some  facts  and  references  of  interest  not  contained  in  the  pre- 
vious publication. 

A  marked  character  in  early  Wisconsin  history  was  Gen. 
Philo  White,  a  pioneer,  legislator,  journalist  and  diplomatist, 
a  useful  and  eminent  citizen,  an  honest  man  in  every  fiber  of 
his  composition,  with  some  peculiarities  of  mind  and  will,  which 
render  his  character  an  interesting  study.  He  is  still  living  at 
a  ripe  age,  active  in  his  daily  pursuits,  a  resident  of  Whites-^ 
town,  N.  Y.,  his  native  ))lac(!,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  all  his 
various  faculties,  and  taking  a  lively  interest,  as  is  shown  by 
recent  correspondence,  iri  Wisconsin  aifairs.  A  sketch  of  his 
life,  we  are  sure,  will  be  of  interest  to  every  reader  of  TilK  Sun- 
day Telegraph,  in  the  columns  of  which  has  appeared  so 
many  entertaining  chapters  of  the  personal  pioneer  history  of 
Wisfronsin.  '    . 

PniLo  White  was  born  at  Whitestown,  N.  Y.,  and  educated 
partly  at  Whitesboro,  and  partly  at  the  pr(')»aratorv  departUK'nt 
of  Montreal  College.  Canada,  and-in  tlie  then  Utic:i  Seminary, 
wh^Tc  he  was  prepared  for  college.     Iff  did  not  uMaduatc,  how- 

650630 


ever,  but  entered  instead  the  office  of  the  Columbian  Gazette,  at 
Utica,  of  which  his  former  preceptor  was  one  of  the  publishers, 
in  which  he  remained  as  learner  and  contributor  three  or  four 
years.  A  newspaper  venture  at  Manhus,  N.  Y.,  afterwards  en- 
gaged his  attention,  but  he  held  his  interest  in  the  establish- 
ment but  a  short  time,  as  the  ultimate  success  of  a  newspaper 
establishment  at  that  point  was  notsufficiently  inviting  to  tempt 
him  permanently  to  settle  there.  He  then  went  to  Washing- 
ton, and  from  thence  to  Salisbury,  N.  C,  where  he  and  another 
enterprising  young  gentleman  established  the  Western  Carolin- 
ian newspaper.  He  subsequently  purchased  his  partner's  inter- 
est, and  continued  this  publication,  until  1830.  In  1822,  he 
married  a  daughter  of  Wm.  Hampton,  of  Salisbury,  and  during 
his  residence  there  held  many  important  local  offices,  including 
that  of  Justice  of  the  peace,  chairman  of  the  "Justices  of  the 
Quorum"  constituting  the  county  court  of  pleas  and  quarter 
sessions,  and  mayor  of  the  municipality.  He  also  held  various 
positions  in  the  militia,  and  was  at  one  time  nominated  for  the 
legislature,  but  declined. 

In  1830,  Mr.  White's  health  became  impaired,  and  a  sea  voy- 
age being  recommended,  influential  friends  procured  for  him  an 
appointment  as  United  States  navy  agent,  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  office  included  the  duties  of  naval  storekeeper  and  purchas- 
ing agent  for  the  government  vessels  on  the  Pacific  ocean,  which 
had  previously  been  discharged  by  agents  at  two  stations,  Val- 
paraiso, in  Chili,  and  Lima,  in  Peru.  The  new  appointee  pro- 
ceeded to  this  distant  field  of  official  labor,  via  Cape  Horn,  in 
the  fall  of  1830.  He  remained  on  that  coast  four  years,  fulfill- 
ing his  various  and  important  duties  with  intelligence,  zeal  and 
integrity.  He  resigned  in  1834,  and  returned  to  his  then  home 
in  Salisbury. 

In  the  same  year  Mr.  White  removed  to  Ealeigh,  N.  C,  and 
established  a  newspaper  called  the  North  Carolina  Standard, 
and  was  elected  state  printer  by  the  legislature  at  its  next  ses- 
sion. As  a  journalist  and  state  official,  he  was  a  busy  man, 
indeed,  for  the  few  following  years,  writing  numerous  able  and 
trenchant  articles  for  the  columns  of  his  paper,  which  acquired 
a  wide  circulation  and  a  commanding  influence,  and  preparing 
and  publishing  vast  quantities  of  political  campaign  literature, 
which  he  scattered  throughout  the  state. 

The  business  demands  of  his  position  as  public  printer,  were 
also  exacting,  and  entailed  incessant  labor,  care  and  anxiety, 
which  lasted  until  the  spirited  and  turbulent  presidential  cam- 
paign of  1836.  It  was  doubtless  greatly  due  to  the  political 
industry  and  effective  management  of  Mr.  White  that  the  state 
of  North  Carolina,  which  had  before  been  tvhig  in  politics,  was 
revolutionized,  and  gave  a  democratic  majority  in  that  year ; 
and  he  was  appointed  by  the  college  of  electors  to  carry  its  elec- 


toral  vote  to  Washington.  The  constant  toil  and  mental  excite- 
ment involved  in  this  career,  had  again  impaired  Mr.  White's 
health,  and  he  determined  during  this  year  to  dispose  of  his 
newspaper  and  other  interests  in  North  Carolina,  and  to  remove 
to  the  Northwest.  In  accordance  with  this  determination,  he 
sold  the  journal  which  he  had  established,  and  launched  on  a 
new  and  pioneer  enterprise,  and,  in  May,  1886,  visited  Milwau- 
kee, and  purchased  real  estate  both  at  this  place  and  Racine. 
Wisconsin  was  then  a  part  of  Michigan,  and  a  separate  territo- 
rial government  was  not  formed  until  the  4th  of  July  follow- 
ing. Mr.  White  remained  here  during  the  season,  taking  an 
active  part  in  public  affairs,  and  in  the  labors  of  those  who  were 
founding  the  new  territoi-ial  government,  and  placing  in  opera- 
tion the  business,  educational  and  moral  systems  upon  which  a 
future  great  state  was  to  rest.  He  was  an  occasional  writer  for 
the  Milwaukee  Advertiser^  published  bv  D.  H.  Richards,  (our 
"uncle  Daniel,"  whose  death  a  few  years  since  was  so  sincerely 
lamented,)  on  the  W  est  side,  or  "Kilbourntown,"  as  it  was  then 
called. 

Mr.  White  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  the  founder  of  the  Mil- 
waukee Sentinel.  During  the  time  he  spent  here  in  the  summer 
of  1836,  he  saw,  as  a  newspaper  man  naturally  would,  the  ad- 
vantages which  the  West  side  was  "r^ininor  l)v  havin";  a  ])ubli- 
cation  in  which  its  attractions  were  advertised.  At  that  period, 
a  controlling  interest  in  West  side  property  was  held  by  Byron 
Kilbourn,  called  in  frontier  slang,  ''Lord  Byron."  The  largest 
property  owner  on  the  East  side  was  Solomon  Juneau,  known 
as  "King  Solomon."  Mr.  White  suggested  to  Mr.  Juneau  the 
importance  of  a  newspaper  which  should  advocate  the  superior- 
ity of  the  East  side  over  the  other  sections  of  the  city,  and  Mr. 
Juneau  adopted  his  views  on  the  subject.  Mr.  White  then  re- 
turned to  North  Carolina  to  close  his  business  affairs  there,  and 
the  following  spring,  (1837,)  he  came  again  to  Milwaukee. 
While  in  New  York,  on  his  way  to  the  West,  he  purchased,  by 
Mr.  Juneau's  authority,  the  materials  and  outfit  of  the  Sentinel^ 
and  employed  John  O'Rourkc  to  come  West  with  them.  He 
was  als<;  induc(;d  l)y  Juneau,  on  his  return  to  Milwaukee,  to  as- 
sume the  management  of  the  new  paper,  with  O'lioui'ke  and 
J.  W.  Chubbuck  as  j)rinters.  Mr.  VVIiite  continued  to  edit  the 
paper  until  the  fall  of  that  year,  when  he  was  appointed  naval 
disbursing  agent  for  the  New  York  station.  He  was  then  suc- 
ceeded by  liiirrison  Reed  in  the  editorship  of  the  newspa[)er  in 
question. 

Among  Mr.  White's  purt'liascs  of  property  in  Milwaukee, 
was  a  tract  120  feet  front,  on  East  Water  street,  at  the  corner 
of  IIurfM).  On  this  site  he  subsequently  erected  the  United 
States  hotel  block,  the  most  imposing  building  at  the  time  in 
the  city,  and  making  that  a  busy  locality.     In   fact,   that  was, 


at  the  time,  and  for  many  years  afterwards,  so  long  as  the  lake 
steamers  landed  at  the  old  pier  at  the  foot  of  Huron  Street,  sub- 
stantially the  center  of  travel  and  business,  and  real  estate  in 
the  neighborhood  was  held  at  a  higher  valuation  than  in  any 
other  location.  The  late  J.  H.  Eogers  was  associated  with  Mr. 
White  in  the  erection  of  this  building,  and  it  was  afterwards 
sold  to  Ira  Couch,  and  was  destroyed  by  dre  in  1854.  Mr, 
White's  official  duties  called  him  away  from  his  home  in  Mil- 
waukee, a  large  portion  of  the  time  from  the  period  when  he 
first  made  it  his  residence  till  1844,  when  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  Racine,  where  he  owned  property  interests,  and  he 
remained  a  permanent  resident  of  that  place  as  long  as  he  con- 
tinued to  be  a  citizen  of  the  State.  He  there  purchased  of  the 
late  Marshall  M.  Strong  the  materials  of  the  Racine  Advocate, 
and  resumed  his  original  profession  of  journalism.  He  also 
owned  three  or  four  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  Racine,  the  culture 
and  care  of  which  occupied  a  large  portion  of  his  time  and  at- 
tention. Though  not  a  practical  farmer,  Mr  White  acquired  a 
valuable  experience  in  farm  management,  which  he  embodied 
in  a  profound  and  able  dissertation  on  agricultural  subjects,  at 
the  request  of  the  State  Agricultural  Society,  for  its  volume  of 
publications  in  1851. 

In  1846,  Mr.  White  was  elected  a  member  of  the  territorial 
council,  (the  upper  house  of  the  territorial  legislature,)  and  he 
served  in  that  body  at  the  sessions  of  1847  and  1848.  His  col- 
league in  the  council  was  the  late  Fred.  S.  Lovell,  and  that 
county  (Racine)  then  included  the  territory  of  the  present  coun- 
ty of  Kenosha,  and  it  was  the  largest,  most  important  and  pop- 
ulous county  in  the  state,  having  two  lake  ports,  and  the  most 
thickly  settled  agricultural  neighborhoods  in  the  state.  This  is 
apparent  from  the  fact  that  Racine  was  the  only  county  in  the 
state  having  two  representatives  in  the  council. 

Mr.  White  was  also  elected,  in  1848,  after  the  admission  of 
the  State,  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  served  two  ses- 
sions, a  special  and  regular  session,  in  that  body. 

While  in  the  territorial  legislature,  Mr.  White  procured  an 
act  of  incorporation  for  Racine  as  a  village.  The  powers  of  the 
proposed  municipality  were  as  ample  as  those  usually  conferred 
upon  cities,  but  the  ambition  of  the  people  was  far  from  satis- 
fied. Racine  was  then  a  rival  of  Milwaukee,  and  had  a  rival  in 
Kenosha,  and  to  accept  any  municipal  designation  short  of  that 
of  city,  was  regarded  as  humiliating;  and  on  its  being  submit- 
ted to  a  vote  of  the  people,  the  village  charter  was  rejected, 
although  a  committee  of  the  same  people  had  prepared  the  doc- 
ument, and  sent  it  to  Mr.  White  at  Madison,  with  the  unpopu- 
lar word  "village"  in  it.  Subsequently,  Mr.  White  being  then 
a  member  of  the  senate,  he  drew  up  and  passed  through  the 
legislature  a  city  charter  for  Racine,  which  was  accepted  ;    and 


under  which,  variously  amended,  that  delightful  place  now  ex- 
ists as  a  municipal  corporation. 

In  the  State  Senate  Mr.  White  was  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee on  education,  schools  and  school  lands,  and  the  laws  for  the 
management  of  the  school  lands,  and  establishing  the  educa- 
tional system  of  the  state  as  they  stand  on  the  present  statute 
book,  to-day,  are  lai-gely  the  fruit  of  his  labors.  He  produced 
an  elaborate  report  on  the  subject  of  popular  education,  in  which 
the  future  policy  of  the  state  as  to  the  maintenance  of  schools 
was  outlined.  The  school  laws  which  were  enacted  in  pursu- 
ance of  his  recommendations,  regulated  the  endowment  of  the 
state  university,  and  provided  for  the  local  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, as  they  now  exist  in  all  parts  of  the  state. 

A  generation  which  regards  railroads  as  a  necessity  of  civiliz- 
ation, and  which  can  hardly  imagine  how  mankind  lived  with- 
out them,  can  hardly  appreciate  the  advantages  which  plank 
roads  then  possessed  over  the  common  roads  of  the  new  country 
in  which  they  were  laid.  But  the  early  settlers  knew  their 
value,  as  they  made  impassable  ways  passable,  opened  feasible 
routes  to  the  lake  shore  ports  and  business  points,  enabled  teams 
with  but  little  effort  to  draw  the  heaviest  loads  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year,  and  added  to  the  price  of  every  product  of  the  soil, 
by  cheapening  and  facilitating  its  transportation  to  market. 
During  Mr.  White's  term  in  the  senate,  as  chairman  of  a  special 
committee  appointed  on  the  matter  of  plank  roads,  he  made  an 
exhaustive  report  on  the  subject  in  all  its  aspects,  theoretical 
and  practical,  displaying  an  amount  of  study  and  knowledge  in 
that  direction  in  the  highest  degree  admirable.  It  was  a  remark- 
able legislative  paper,  of  as  much  importance  relating  to  j^lank 
roads  as  any  report  or  scientific  work  in  relation  to  railroads  in 
our  day.  He  explained  the  whole  system,  its  cost,  its  adapta- 
tion to  new  cout^tries,  its  management  and  advantages.  Plank 
roads  were  immediately  projected  in  all  directions,  and  many 
were  built  which  fully  realized  as  a  fact  all  the  benefits  to  the 
j)ublic  at  large  which  he  had  described  as  a  theory.  But  for 
the  revolution  in  the  uKjdes  of  travel  and  transportation,  which 
railroads  caused  immediately  afterward,  connecting  the  interior 
with  the  lake  shore  cities,  and  superseding  the  use  of  plank 
roads,  his  thoughtful  and  masterly  discussion  of  the  subject 
would  have  l)een  regarded  of  as  much  im|)ortance  as  any  prac- 
tical authority  on  the  sul)ject  of  highway  engineering. 

If)  the  legislature  Mr.  White's  course  was  marked  by  atlvo- 
cacy  of  the  strictest  economy  in  public  expenditure,  and  of 
careful  and  thorough  plans  of  legislation,  as  w(;]l  as  by  the 
utmost  purity,  fidelity  and  zeal  in  the  discharge  of  legislative 
duty.  In  the  territorial  legislature  he  opposed  with  uncommon 
energy  the  divorce  acts  which  were  pas.sed  nullifying  nuptial 


6 

contracts,  as  he  deemed  them  vicious,  immoral,   and  violative 
of  the  divine  sacrament  of  marriage. 

Mr.  White  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Eacine  College,  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  first  to  agitate  the  establishment  of  an  in- 
stitution of  learning  under  the  care  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  he  was  one  of  the  committee  of  three  by  whom  its  plan  was 
proposed  and  its  present  location  adopted.  He  was  also  among 
the  many  liberal  contributors  to  the  fund  necessary  to  erect 
college  buildings,  and  for  the  early  support  of  the  institution. 
He  has  ever  since  been  one  of  the  most  devoted,  zealous  and 
generous  friends  that  Eacine  College  has  possessed  in  the  long 
list  of  its  patrons,  supporters  and  donors. 

Mr.  White  was  closely  identified  with  the  Wisconsin  militia 
system,  in  which  he  gained  his  military  title,  by  appointment 
and  by  real  service,  not  in  the  field,  but  in  its  organization  as 
an  active  available  force  under  the  militia  laws.  The  militia 
law  of  the  state  was  passed  in  1850.  Gov.  Dodge,  in  the  early 
history  of  the  territory  had  organized  an  efficient  militia  sys 
tem,  which  had  fallen  into  disuse,  however,  under  his  unmili- 
tary  successors.  Gov.  Dewey  desired  to  secure  a  similar  degree 
of  efficiency  in  the  militia  under  the  newly  enacted  state  law, 
and  with  that  view,  desired  to  select  a  class  of  zealous  and  en- 
ergetic citizens  as  militia  officers.  Among  these  appointments 
was  Mr.  White,  who  made  a  thorough  enrollment  of  the  persons 
within  the  limits  of  his  command  liable  to  do  military  duty,  ap- 
pointed a  staff  on  which  Jas.  E.  Doolittle  was  judge  advocate 
and  Dr.  P.  E.  Hoy  was  surgeon,  and  all  his  regiments  and  com- 
panies were  fully  organized  and  officered,  forming  a  militia  force 
of  7,616  rank  and  file,  in  the  counties  of  Eacine,  Kenosha  and 
Walworth,  which  constituted  the  second  brigade  of  the  first  di- 
vision of  the  state  militia.  This  is  undoubtedly  the  closest  and 
most  faithful  enrollment  of  militia  ever  made  in  the  state. 

Gen.  White  was  appointed  and  served  as  Consul  General  of 
the  United  States  at  the  "Free  Hanseatic"  Cities  of  Hamburg, 
Lubec,  and  Altona,  in  the  years  1849  and  1850,  during  the 
troublous  times  of  the  first  Schleswick-Holstein  war.  He  was 
clothed  with  diplomatic  powers,  (those  Free  Cities  not  being  then 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  full  grade  "  Minister  "  of  the 
United  States  in  Europe.)  Very  responsible  duties  devolved 
upon  Gen.  White  in  protecting  American  citizens  and  American 
commerce  in  those  commercially  "  Free  Forts  "  pending  that 
anomalous  "war,"  the  illy  concealed  purpose  of  which  was  the 
governmental  absorption  by  Prussia  of  Holstein,  and  portions 
of  Schleswick.  His  correspondence  consequently  involved  com- 
plex questions  of  international  law,  requiring  laborious  research 
and  firmness  of  purpose.  As  an  illustration  :  On  the  4th  of  July, 
1849,  Consul  White  invited  some  fifteen  or  twenty  young 
Americans  temporarily  there,  together  with  the  supercargoes 


and  captains  of  vessels  in  port,  to  join  him  at  the  consulate  in 
celebrating  the  anniversary  of  the  natal  day  of  American  inde- 
pendence. On  the  pretense  of  rebellious  indications  by  Grer- 
mans  in  Hamburg,  10,000  Prussian  troops  had  been  suddenly 
sent  down  there  by  rail  from  Berlin,  who  proclaimed  martial 
law  in  Hamburg !  All  extraneous  display  of  flags,  including 
the  American,  was  prohibited  !  This  arbitary  measure  drew 
from  Consul  White  a  peremptory  protest,  and  an  energetic  and 
eflfective  correspondence  ;  which  eventuated  in  placing  the  three 
national  flags,  (American,  Hamburg,  and  Prussian,)  side  by 
side  on  the  lofty  flagstaflE  of  the  magnificent  "Hotel  de  I'Europe," 
in  which  edifice  the  American  consulate  was  located,  the  "Star 
Spangled  Banner '  in  the  ce?ifer, where  it  continued  to  wave,  in 
the  faces  of  the  belligerent  Prussian  troops,  during  the  entire 
length  of  that  consecrated  day  so  dear  to  American  patriotism. 

In  1852  Gen.  White  was  chosen  on  the  democratic  ticket  one 
of  the  presidential  electors  for  Wisconsin,  and  at  the  meeting 
of  the  state  electoral  college  at  Madison,  to  cast  the  presidential 
vote  of  the  state,  he  was  made  president  of  that  body,  and  de- 
livered an  instructive  and  eloquent  address  suitable  for  the  oc- 
casion. 

In  1S53,  Grcn.  White  was  appointed  by  President  Pierce, 
United  States  Minister  to  Ecuador,  in  South  America,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  that  year  he  went  with  his  family  to  Quito,  the 
scene  of  his  diplomatic  duties.  It  was  in  regard  to  this  appoint- 
ment that  the  late  Isaac  Woodle  remarked,  that  "the  president 
had  conferred  on  Gen.  White  the  highest  office  in  his  gift,"  the 
literal  truth  of  which  is  indicated  in  the  geographical  fact  that 
Quito  is  situated  in  the  Andes,  some  two  miles  up,  in  a  magnifi- 
cent valley  of  those  peerless  mountains.  In  a  recent  pleasant, 
gossiping  letter,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  on  this  subject,  Gen. 
White  writes  :  "  The  first  time  I  saw  in  print  the  hon  mot  you 
cite,  as  applicable  to  my  case,  was  in  a  New  York  daily,  after 
my  arrival  in  Quito,  the  central  plaza  of  which  city  really  is 
some  lU,0(iO  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  an  altitude  said  to 
exceed  that  of  any  other  seat  of  a  national  government  on 
earth ;  so  that,  based  on  the  science  of  mensuration,  my  ap- 
[K)intment  was  in  fact  the  'hu/hest  in  the  gift  of  the  government!' 
But,  anterior  to  my  being  commissioned,  Govcnor  Marcy,  (the 
secretary  of  state  at  the  time)  incjuired  of  me  which  city  in  the 
Andes  i  thought  would  be  tlie  most  desirable  to  reside  in,  Chu- 
quisaca,  (the  capital  of  Bolivia)  or  Quito,  (the  capital  of  Ecua- 
dor?) I  unhesitatingly  gave  Quito  the  preference;  whereupon 
he  rejoined,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  'I  see  you  go  in  for  the 
h'/jhfifit  place !'  And  as  I  eventually  got  my  choice,  I  felt  flat- 
tered at  the  governor's  jocular  humor  !' 

Gen.  White  applied  himself  to  the  duties  of  his   diplomatic 
office  with  characteristic  assiduity  and  earnestness.     lie  receiv- 


ed  immediately  on  reaching  Quito,  rigid  instruction  from  Sec- 
retary Marcy,  to  close  up  the  numerous  pending  claims  of 
American  citizens  against  the  government  of  Ecuador,  some  of 
which  had  been  in  dispute  for  as  much  as  thirty  years.  He 
immediately  applied  himself  to  mastering  the  details  of  the 
voluminous  transactions  in  which  the  claims  had  arisen,  in  pro- 
curing evidence  as  to  their  validity,  in  the  study  of  internation- 
al law  applicable  to  the  respective  cases,  as  well  as  to  almost 
interminable  discussions,  written  and  oral,  with  the  officers  of 
the  Ecuadorian  government,  and  to  the  thwarting  of  their  at- 
tempts to  baffle  and  defeat  the  allowance  of  those  claims,  so 
characteristic  of  the  proverbial  procrastination  of  Spanish  au- 
thorities in  deaUng  with  troublesome  or  unpleasant  national 
questions.  During  the  five  years  which  he  served  in  this  mis- 
sion, he  rendered  more  service  to  American  citizens  than  the 
whole  sum  of  labor  performed  by  his  predecessors  during  a 
generation ;  and  he  left  ever}^  claim,  founded  in  justice,  fairly 
docketed  and  proved,  some  settled,  and  others  in  process  of 
settlement.  He  returned  from  his  prolonged  residence  abroad 
in  1858;  being  recalled  at  his  own  request,  leaving  behind  a 
record  of  luborious  usefulness  in  office  and  the  respect  and 
affection  of  the  people,  officers  and  diplomatic  representatives 
of  other  nations  with  whom  he  had  been  associated.  Unusual 
formalities  were  awarded  him  by  the  Quito  government,  to  ex- 
press the  national  regret  at  the  termination  of  his  mission. 

Upon  Gen.  White's  return  to  the  United  States  in  1858,  he 
did  not  resume  his  residence  in  Wisconsin,  but  settled  with  his 
family  at  his  native  place,  Whitestown,  where  he  still  resides. 

Gen.  White  was  last  in  Wisconsin  in  18H2,  when,  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  authorities  of  Eacine  College,  he  delivered  an  ad- 
dress at  the  College  commencement  of  that  year.  He  was  cor- 
dially and  feelingly  greeted  by  his  old  acquaintances  and  friends, 
and  his  address,  which  related  largely  to  his  travels  and  obser- 
vations in  South  America,  was  interesting  and  instructive  in 
the  highest  degree. 

In  one  direction  of  cotemporary  thought.  Gen.  White  has 
recently  presented  to  the  public  a  valuable  contribution.  In 
the  interest  of  the  church  organization  of  which  he  is  an  active 
and  honored  member,  and  as  chairman  of  one  of  its  committees, 
he  prepared  a  report,  forming  a  bulky  pamphlet  on  the  subject 
of  the  taxation  of  the  property  of  charitable  and  religious  in- 
stitutions. It  is  a  full  compilation  of  American  laws  and 
usages  on  this  subject,  and  a  compendium  of  the  arguments  re- 
lating to  it  more  complete  than  can  be  elsewhere  found,  and  it 
furnishes  to  those  interested  a  convenient  manual  for  reference 
as  to  facts  and  opinions,  which  will  be  found  to  be  extremely 
valuable. 


A  striking  instance  of  Gen.  White's  generosity  and  public 
spirit  is  of  somewhat  recent  occurrence.  The  original  plat  of 
ground  donated  by  the  pioneer  patriarch  of  that  region,  Hugh 
White,  Sr.,  to  Oneida  county,  as  a  site  for  a  court-house  and  a 
public  green,  reverted,  with  the  old  court-house  upon  it,  to  his 
heirs,  on  the  removal  of  the  county  seat  to  Utica.  Gen.  Philo 
White,  as  one  of  those  heirs,  bought  the  interest  of  his  co-heirs 
in  the  reverted  estate,  and  donated  the  whole,  court-house  and 
all,  to  the  town  of  Whitestown,  for  a  town  hall  and  village  park. 
The  citizens  have  appropriately  commemorated  the  event,  by 
placing  a  superb  life-size  oil  portrait  of  Gen.  White  in  the  main 
Hall  of  the  edifice. 

Gen.  White,  among  his  different  experinces,  has  seen  active 
military  service.  In  1814,  when  quite  a  lad,  he  was  with  the 
force  called  out  for  the  defense  of  Sacketts  Harbor,  and  served 
through  the  brief  campaign  in  that  locality,  for  which  he  re- 
ceives a  pension  from  government,  of  significance  to  him  far 
beyond  its  amount,  as  a  recognition  of  the  youthful  valor  and 
devotion  which  he  displayed  in  a  time  of  public  peril,  and  as  a 
souvenir  of  the  varied  service  he  has  rendered  to  the  country. 

In  1877  Gen.  White  took  an  active  part  in  the  celebration  of 
the  one  hundredth-anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Oriskany,  and, 
as  one  of  the  officers  of  the  occasion,  delivered  an  appropriate 
and  patriotic  address,  in  the  course  of  which  he  reminded  his 
neighbors  and  fellow-citizens  of  Whitestown,  that  it  was  their 
natal  soil  which  had  been  honored  and  enriched  by  the  blood 
of  those  who  fell  in  that  memorable  battle.  The  proceedings 
of  this  celebration  were  embodied  in  an  attractive  volume  print- 
ed by  the  legislature,  containing  the  proceedings  of  the  three 
centennial  celebrations  of  Oriskany,  (in  the  town  of  Whitestown,) 
Saratoga,  and  Bemis'  Heights,  in  Saratoga  county. 

It  will  be  gratifying  to  the  very  many  friends  of  Gen.  White 
to  know,  that  in  the  evening  of  his  long  and  well-spent  life  he 
retains  his  constant  habits  of  industry,  study,  and  zeal  in  pub- 
lic affairs  ;  that  neither  his  mental  nor  bodily  vigor  is  materially 
impaired,  that  he  walks  without  a  cane,  and  with  something  of 
the  elastic  stej>  and  sprightliness  of  his  early  years.  His  cheer- 
fulness and  ciiuaiiimity  of  disposition  constitute,  as  they  did 
when  he  was  a  citizen  of  Wisconsin,  an  excellent  trait  of  his  char- 
actor.  His  later  life  has  been  cloudr-d  l^y  ])ut  one  shadow,  the 
loss  of  his  dearly  beloved  and  most  highly  honored  wife,  which 
occurred  about  two  years  ago.  They  had  lived  together  iti  domes- 
tic felicity  for  over  fifty  yeans,  and  she  had  been  his  companion 
and  walked  by  his  side  through  all  iiis  varied  and  distinguish- 
ed career,  modest,  irreproaciiable,  and  .supremely  womanly,  and 
the  rupture  of  such  ties  was,  to  human  apjirehcnsion,  well  nigh 
insupportable.  But  a  cultured  Christian  philosophy,  and  a  de- 
lightful trust  in  the  graciousness  of  Providence,  have  softened 


10 

the  grief  and  mitigated  the  desolation  created  bj  the  calami- 
tious  event;  and  amid  his  books,  in  active  charities,  in  arduous 
labor  for  others,  and  in  reasonable  devotion,  he  is  rounding  out 
the  measure  of  his  life,  and  completing  his  days  in  usefulness 
and  honor. 

The  interests  of  his  town,  his  neighborhood,  his  church,  he  is 
constantly  seeking  to  promote.  One  of  his  latest  labors  was  a 
study  into  the  title  of  a  burial  place  in  his  native  town,  which 
had  become  somewhat  complicated,  and  his  exposition  of  which 
is  a  remarkable  work,  to  which  an  instructive  feature  is  added 
in  a  historical  sketch  of  ancient  and  modern  cemeteries  in  gen- 
eral. He  has  a  competence,  and  his  generous  benefactions  are 
his  monuments  in  everj^  clime  to  which  his  official  duties  have 
called  him.  In  recent  correspondence,  he  has  made  frequent 
mention  of  his  friends  and  acquaintances  in  this  state,  and  he 
cherishes  a  tenacious  regard  for  Wisconsin  and  its  institutions. 

Gen.  White  is  of  medium  height  (J~feet  7  inches,)  and  slight 
build  ;  is  remarkably  active  in  his  habits ;  his  conversation  is 
somewhat  rapid,  but  gracefully  intoned,  clear  in  the  current  of 
thought,  lively  in  style,  and  enriched  by  an  infinite  fund  of  illus- 
tration, personal  recollection,  varied  and  accurate  observation,, 
and  almost  universal  reading.  His  familiarity  with  public  mea 
and  events  during  the  last  sixty  years,  renders  him  a  most  en- 
tertaining and  instructive  companion  ;  while  the  goodness  of  his 
heart  and  the  benevolence  of  his  nature,  are  the  gentle  attrib- 
utes which  beauty  his  life-long  career.  His  zeal  and  integrity 
in  the  pubhc  service,  his  respectable  attainments  in  literature^ 
and  the  tireless  industry  with  which  the  labors  of  his  hands  and 
his  brain  have  fostered  and  aided  the  vai'ied  industries  of  life,. 
are  crowning  virtues  of  his  lengthened  years  of  toil  and  study. 


APPENDIX 


Diocese  of  Wisconsin. 


At  the  annual  session  of  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Wisconsin,  in  1855,  the  following  letter  from  Gen.  Philo 
White,  Minister  Resident  of  the  United  States  at  Quito,  Ecuador,  was  read 
by  the  Secretary : 

Quito,  (Ecuador,)  18th  April.  1855. 

To  the  Diocesan  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  Wis- 
cojisin : 

Cherishing  a  deep  reverence  for  the  character  and  services  of  our  venerable 
and  beloved  Diocesan,  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Kemper,  and  knowing 
that  he  has  been  subjected  to  an  amount  of  labor  in  the  holy  office  to  which 
his  life  has  been  dedicated,  more  extended  and  more  ai'duou's,  perhaps,  than 
has  been  performed  by  any  of  his  compeers  in  the  Church,  which,  coupled 
with  increasing  years,  and  a  consequent  decrease  of  his  powers  of  endur- 
ance, demand  of  those  who  have  profited  by  his  devoted  ministrations,  an 
effort  to  relieve  him  of  a  portion  at  least  of  those  labors,  I  feel  it  incumbent 
on  me,  as  an  humble  communicant  of  the  Church  within  his  Episcopate,  to 
contribute  my  mite  toward  replenishing  the  Diocesan  Fund.  Accordingly, 
I  send  herewith  an  order  on  my  agent  in  Racine  for  One  Hundred  Dollars. 
And  I  trust  that  the  Fund  will  receive  such  accessions  from  other  sources 
as  will  speedily  swell  it  to  an  amount  adequate  to  meet  the  temporal  wants 
of  our  Bishop,  without  resort  to  a  3Iissionary  stipend,  and  thus  enable  our 
Church  to  avail  itself  of  his  entire  Episcopal  services  within  the  Diocese. 
With  sentiments  of  sincere  esteem, 

I  am  vour  Brother  in  Christian  fellowship, 

PHILO  WHITE. 

On  motion  it  was  Resolved.  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  pre- 
sented to  Gen.  While,  for  his  welcome  donation  to  the  Episcopal  Fund. 

On  motion.  Gen.  Philo  White,  Beiij.  McVickar,  M.  D..  Isaac  J.  Ullmann, 
Esq.,  Marshall  M.  Slrong.  Esq.,  and  Joseph  S.  Colt,  Esq.,  were  elected 
Trustees  of  the  Episcopal  Fund,  under  the  act  of  incorporation. 


[From  the  {New  York)  Church  Jourjud.] 
A  Good  Example. 

Messrs.  Editors:  I  have  just  received  a  kind  and  interesting  letter  from 
Bishop  Kemper,  from  wliicli  I  uuike  the  following  extract,  with  the  hope 
that  others  will  be  incited  to  follow  the  example  of  the  alisent  donor.  The 
Bishop  writes  thus:  "I  have  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Philo  White,  Minister 
resident  of  the  United  States  for  the  Renultlic  of  Ecuador,  dated  at  Quito, 
23d  April,  185fi,  frf»m  which  I  cony  the  lollowing: 

"As  an  earnest  of  my  ajjoroval  of  llie  beneficent  purposes  of  the  Western 
Church  P>xtfrisi(m  Society,  I  must  ask  your  acceptance,  in  behalf  of  that 
Society,  of  n  Bfinnty  Ijand  Wjirraiit  for  forty  acres,  awarded  to  nie  for 
juvenile  militia  services  in  ilefen.se  of  my  country,  rendered  at  a  jjcriod  of 

freat  peril,  while  the  armies  of  a  powerful  enemy  were  menacing  all  our 
rentiers." 
This  Chri.stian  gentleman,  while  away  from  his  home  and  country,  does 
not  forget  his  Church.     Mr.  White  has  also  sent  home,  from  time  to  time, 


12 

$100  for  the  Episcopal  Fund  of  the  Diocese  of  Wisconsin,  $100  for  the 
Theological  Institution  at  Nashotali.  $100  for  enlarging  St.  Luke's  Church 
at  Racine.  $300  towards  purchasing  a  parsonage  for  j:he  Rector  of  St.  Luke's 
Church,  Racine,  and  $600  for  endowing  "Racine  College,"  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  city  of  Racine. 

Alas!  how  many  of  our  citizens,  while  abroad,  if  they  do  not  forget  their 
country,  neglect  the  claims  of  the  Gospel  and  the  church,  spending  large 
sums  on  follies,  while  the  cause  of  Christ  languishes  in  all  our  borders  at 
home.— JVew  York,  May,  1856. 


[F'ro7n  the  Racine  ( Wisconsi7i)  Journal,  ] 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Vestry  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  held  on  Saturday  even- 
ing, on  the  19th  ult.,  the  following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  unani- 
mously adopted: 

Whereas,  the  Hon.  Philo  White,  formelya  member  of  St.  Luke's  Parish, 
Racine,  Wisconsin,  but  now  a  resident  of  Whitestown,  New  York,  has 
generously  presented  the  sum  of  $300  on  behalf  of  himself  and  wife,  for 
the  purchase  of  a  Rectory  for  St.  Luke's  Parish :  Xow.  therefore. 

Resolved,  That  we,  as  officers  of  said  Parish,  hereby  tender  to  the  Hon. 
Philo  White  and  his  wife,  our  grateful  thanks  for  the  disinterested  munifi- 
cence, and  our  kindest  wishes  for  their  future  welfare. 

Resolved.  That  the  Secretarv  of  this  Board  be  directed  to  communicate 
to  Hon.  Philo  White  a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 

_  The  above  is  a  merited  expression  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  White,  who  is  dis- 
tinguished for  his  liberality  in  behalf  of  every  good  object. 


"Xashotah." 

[From  the  Racine  {Wisconsin)  Jour7ial.] 

We  are  permitted  to  publish  the  following  correspondence,  which  evinces 
a  warm  and  pervading  interest  in  the  continued  prosperity  of  that  noble 
"enterprise  of  faith,"  the  "Nashotah  Mission." 

Nashotah  Mission,  Wis.,  April  15. 
Hon.    Philo   White — Dear  Sir:   In   my   next  acknowledgment  in  the 
Gospel  Messenger,  I  intend  to  acknowledge  seventy-five  dollars  from  you. 
It  may  surprise  you,  and  therefore  I  send  the  enclosed  letter  to  explain  the 
matter. 

Please  accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  warm  interest  in  Nashotah,  and  for 
the  many  substantial  benefits  it  has  brought  to  this  enterprise  of  faith. 
AUow  me  to  hand  you,  through  the  mail,  two  catalogues.    ***** 
Your  ever  grateful  and  ob't  serv't, 

A.  D.  COLE. 

Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  April  6th. 

To  the  Superinte7ident  of  the  Nashotah  Tlieological  Seminary,  Wisconsiji: 

Dear  Sir:  A  few  years  ago,  while  the  Hon.  Philo  White  was  Minister 
Resident  at  Quito,  Ecuador,  I  received  the  hospitalities  of  his  house,  and 
other  kindnesses  from  him.  I  have  been  wishing  to  show  my  appreciation  of 
this  by  some  testimony,  and  cannot  think  of  a  better  way  than  by  the  en- 
closed sum  (seventy-five  dollars)  to  your  Institution,  in  which  I  know  he 
has  always  taken  an  interest.  Please,  therefore,  accept  this  money  as  if  it 
were  a  contribution  from  him ;  while  at  the  same  time  it  may  show  my  grati- 
tude to  him  and  Mrs.  White  for  the  many  acts  of  kindness  from  them  while 
under  their  roof.     I  wish  the  sum  were  larger,  for  this  does  not  approximate 


13 

the  amount  of  mv  obligations  to  them :  but  it  is  all  in  my  power  to  send, 
consistently  with  other  demands. 

Yferv  respectfully  your  friend, 

GEORGE  JONES  * 


Racixe  College  Commexcemext. 
\^From  the  Racine,  {Wis.)  Journal,  July,  1863,] 

Hon  Philo  White  delivered  a  discourse  on  miscellaneous  topics  in  the 
Chapel  of  the  College,  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  before  the  Faculty  and 
Corporation  of  the  Institution,  the  students,  distinguished  strangers  and  an 
appreciatiye  audience.  The  discourse  was  replete  with  yaluable  information 
culled  from  a  life-time  of  investigation  and  observation. 

The  most  interesting  and  novel  portion  of  the  address  was  drawn  from 
the  speaker's  own  experience  and  research  while  a  U.  S.  Minister  to  Ecua- 
dor, in  South  America. 


[From  the  Milimukee  Sentinel,  1862.] 

We  are  in  the  receipt  of  a  pamphlet,  veiy  neatly  printed  at  the  Racine 
Journal  Office,  entitled  "Pichixcha,"  being  extracts  from  a  discourse  de- 
livered in  the  Chapel  of  Racine  College,  during  the  week  of  commencement 
in  July,  by  Philo  White,  Esq.  Col.  White,  of  Racine,  is  well  known  to 
the  early  settlers,  as  a  man  of  prominence  at  home,  and  as  having  served 
the  Government  in  many  capacities,  his  latest  position  being  that  of  Min- 
ister 10  Quito,  "Pichincha"  is  the  name  of  a  volcano,  near  Quito,  and  the 
extracts  in  question  refer  to  the  phenomena  to  be  met  with  in  the  crater  of 
the  volcano.  There  are  also  passages  referring  to  pioneer  incidents  in  Wis- 
consin: and  altogether  it  makes  an  exceedingly  readable  pamphlet.  The 
Colonel  has  our  thanks  for  the  copy  forwarded,  as  well  for  its  intrinsic  merits, 
as  for  its  ''auld  lang  syne'"  reminiscences. 


[From  the  North  Carolina  Standard.] 

Hon.  Philo  White.  — We  are  glad  to  see  in  the  city,  on  a  visit  to  his  old 
friends,  this  distinguished  and  worthy  gentleman,  late  U.  S.  Minister  to 
Ecuador.  Mr.  White  appears  to  lie  in  excellent  healtii.  Time  touches  him 
but  lightly.  The  country  contains  no  truer  man  than  Philo  White.  The 
founder  of  this  journal,  the  Xorth  (Jarolina  Standard,  it  gives  us  peculiar 
satisfaction  to  know  that  it  >^U\\  breathes  the  spirit  and  expounds  the  prin- 
ciples which  he  infused  into  its  first  numbers. 

*iVWe— The  Rev.  George  Jones  is  H  cierirynian  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  a  Chaplain  of  the  U.  S.  Navy,  of  ninny  years  standing.  He  was  Chap- 
lain and  Astronomer  to  Comniodore  Perry's  Naval  Ex|iedi(i()n  and  Dijilo- 
matic  Emba.ssy  to  Jajtan,  the  result  of  his  Astronomical  labor.'^  in  that  re- 
mote country  filling  the  entire  of  one  of  the  several  large  volumes  |iublished 
Vjy  the  (iovcriinient  of  the  ofTicial  account  of  llial  celelnated  Kxpedilion 
and  Embassy.  And  he  was  engaged  .«ome  five  inoiilhs  in  the  "heart  of  llie 
Andes"  ot  Ectnidor.  at  the  time  he  sj)eaks  of  al)ove  as  being  a  guest  of  the 
United  .States  ^Iini.ster  at  the  American  Ijegution  there,  in  making  Astron- 
omical oVjservations  in  that  elevated  region,  principally  with  regard  to  the 
Zodiacal  Lif/ht.  His  elafiorate  researches  into  the  phenomena  of  that  de- 
partment of  Astronomy,  liave  been  apj)roved  mid  commended  by  the  most 
eminent  astronomers  of  liotli  Europe  and  America,  there  having  been  jiii 
unqualified  acquiescence  in,  and  admiration  f»f  his  theory  and  ueiuonstra- 
tions,  by  the  World's  Scientific  Congress  which  assembled  at  Montreal  a  few 
years  since. 


14 

[From  the  Raleigh  (N.  C.)  Sentinel.} 

Hon.  Philo  White. 

We  have  read  an  interesting  letter  from  this  true  friend  of  North  Caro- 
lina, addressed  to  John  C.  Palmer,  Esq.,  of  this  city.  It  was  not  intended 
for  publication,  nor  did  his  friend  mean  that  we  should  make  public  men- 
tion of  the  letter.  After  mentioning  family  and  Church  matters,  the  letter 
loreathes  a  kindly  feeling  for  the  State  and  her  people.  We  need  say  here, 
-there  are  thousands  in  North  Carolina  who  reciprocate  the  kindly  feeling  of 
Philo  White,  and  are  glad  to  know  of  his  continued  good  health  and  pros- 
pei'ity.     It  is  such  men  that  make  this  world  fit  to  live  in. 


[From  the  '"  Artesano,"  of  Quito,  Sept.  23,  1858.J     Translated  for  the  Utica 
Evening  Telegraph. 

Mr.  Philo  White,  a  true  representative  of  liberty,  of  civilization,  and  the 
progressive  principles  which  pervade  the  North  American  Union,  has  been 
relieved  from  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  as  Minister  Resident  of 
the  United  States  in  Ecuador,  by  another  gentleman  of  equal  grade.  And 
on  his  retirement,  he  leaves  behind  no  element  of  discord  nor  cause  of  di- 
plomatic scandal,  as  has  unfortunately  been  the  case  with  some  of  the  other 
foreign  diplomats  accredited  at  this  Capital;  on  the  contrary,  sentiments  of 
profound  regret  pervade  our  community  on  his  departure  from  among  us — 
a  regret  proportioned  alike  to  the  probity  of  his  ohuracter  and  the  conser- 
vative principles  he  inculcated,  as  well  as  to  the  conciliatory  course  of  policy 
he  ever  pursued,  which  was  eminently  pacific,  republican,  popular  and  social. 


{From  the  Carolina  Watchman\ 

The  Hon.  Philo  White  and  lady  are  stopping  at  Mr.  Michael  Brown's,  in 
this  place,  at  present.  They  have  been  in  the  vicinity,  and  here,  visiting 
and  receiving  visits  from  old  friends  and  acquaintances,  for  several  weeks. 
We  are  pleased  to  see  they  are  in  excellent  health  and  preservation. 
^  The  Salisbury  band  did  them  the  honor  of  a  sernade,  a  few  evenings  ago 
— selecting  for  the  occasion  that  sweetest  of  pieces — "  Home  Sweet  Home." 
We  can  well  imagine  the  effect  of  this  simple  offering  upon  those  who  have 
just  returned  to  their  native  land,  after  an  absence  of  five  years,  spent  in  a 
far  distant  country.  Doubtless  it  found  its  way  to  the  heart,  and  awakened 
many  a  tender  thought.  Mr.  White  appeared  in  the  portico,  and  in  a  few 
appropriate  remarks  thanked  the  band  for  the  compliment  they  had  paid 
himself  and  lady. 


{From  the  Salisbury  (N.  C.)  Watchman.'] 

A  suitable  and  highly  finished  marble  monument  has  been  erected  by  the 
Honorable  Philo  White  over  the  grave  of  his  son-in-law,  the  late  Gov- 
ernor Ellis,  in  Oak  Grove  Cemetery,  of  this  city.  With  the  exception  of  the 
pedestal,  which  is  of  granite,  the  monument  is  of  fine  white  marble,  very 
nicely  polished.  It  is  about  eleven  feet  high,  surmounted  with  a  cross;  and 
stands  side  by  side  with  a  simple  shaft  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  erected  by 
the  late  Governor,  years  ago,  to  the  memory  of  his  wife,  Mary  White, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  Philo  and  Nancy  R.  VVhite.  Beautiful  and  lovely 
in  their  youth,  these  monuments,  hand.some  and  tasteful  though  they  be, 
but  poorly  commemorate  the  person.'^  and  the  lives  of  those  whom  they  rep- 
resent. 


/ 


15 

Inscription  on  Gov.  Ellis'  Monument. 

On  the  front  panel  of  the  "die:"  In  commemoration  of  the  life  and  pub- 
lic services  of  John  W.  Ellis,  who  was  born  in  Rowan  county,  N.  C,  Nov. 
23,  1820.  and  died  July  7th,  1861. 

On  the  right  side  panel:  Erected  as  an  affectionate  memento  of  the 
many  virtues  and  noble  attributes,  of  the  late  Governor  John  W.  Ellis:  By 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Philo  White,  and  other  relatives.  1874. 

'"On  the  left  side  panel:  Governor  Ellis  was  educated  at  the  University  of 
North  Carolina,  and  adopted  the  profession  of  law  at  his  graduation.  He 
■was  two  years  a  member  of  the  Legislature ;  nine  years  a  J  udge  of  the  Su- 
preme Courts;  twee  elected  Governor,  and  died  "at  the  age  of  41  years, 
while  yet  in  office  as  Executive  of  the  State. 

On  the  reverse  panel:  "The  memory  of  the  just  is  blessed." 

In  these  varied  and  responsible  positions,  as  in  all  the  relations  of  private 
life,  he  displayed  a  high  order  of  talent,  of  moral  worth,  and  of  patriotic 
devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  his  native  State. 


[From  the  Utica  {N.  Y.)  Observer.] 

The  Hon.  Philo  White  has  just  returned  from  North  Carolina,  greatly  im- 
proved in  health.  It  was  a  labor  of  love  causing  him  to  visit  that  State. 
There  in  his  youth  he  found  favor  in  the  Lord  in  wedding  a  woman  of  rare 
virtues.  More  than  half  a  centijjy  they  enjoyed  each  other's  wise  coun- 
sels, and  thus  theirs  was  an  attractive  home.  At  the  ripe  age  of  75  she  was 
called  to  her  etenial  mansion;  and  wishing  to  sleep  with  her  kindred,  her 
honored  husband  fulfilled  her  request.  At  Salisbury  her  precious  dust  now 
reposes  till  the  resurrection  morn.  Anew  we  tender  to  him  our  warmest 
sympathies  in  his  loneliness. 


Whitesboro,  28d  March.  1860. 
Jfori.  Philo  White,  Dear  Sir: 

The  undersigned  beg  leave  to  present  to  you  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  unani- 
mously adopted  at  the  annual  town  meeting  of  Whitestown,  held  in  this 
village  on  tne  6  h  day  of  March  inst. 

Allow  us,  dear  sir,  to  take  this  occasion  to  express  our  deep  and  earnest 
appreciation  of  your  noble  donation  to  our  Town  and  Village;  and  to  assure 
you  of  our  sincerest  respect  and  best  wishes  for  your  health,  prosperity  and 
happiness.     We  are,  sir,  sincerely  and  faithfully. 

Your  oblJLcei!  fellow  citizens. 
C.  M.  SCHOLEFIELI),  Supervisor  of  Whitestown. 
WHITING  SMITH.  Fresident  of  the  Village  of  Whiteshoro. 

At  the  annua!  Town  Meeting  of  Whitestown,  held  this  day,  (6th  of 
March,  1860.)  at  Whitesboro,  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted  with 
entire  unanimity: 

Resolved,  that  tlie  proposition  made  l)y  tlie  Hon.  Philo  White,  to  donate 
the  Court  Hou.«e,  in  thi.s  Village,  to  the  Town  of  \\  Iiitestown,  with  the 
view  of  it.s  l)eing  prepared  and  used  asaTown  Hall,  be  accepted.  And  fur 
ther,  that  a  tax  of  six  hundred  ilolhirs  \n>  assiissed  and  eoHected  in  this 
town,  during  the  pn'sent  year,  for  the  jiurpose  of  making  such  repairs  upon 
the  edifi'i-  as  will  adapt  it  to  the  pur[)oses  desired  by  the  donor. 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Whitestown,  in  annual  Town  Meeting 
a.SHembled,  do  hereby  express  to  Hon.  Philo  White,  our  sincere  gratitude 
for  his  munifieeiit  gift  to  our  town;  and  in  the  use  of  this  gift,  we  pledge 
ourselves  to  second  the  efforts  so  creditable  to  the  head  and  heart  of  the 
generous  donor,  in  advancing  the  interests,  honor  and  prosjierity  of  this 
town. 


16 

Whitesboro,  May  19th,  1860. 
Hon.  Philo  White,  Sir: 

Your  note  of  21st  April,  offering  to  give  to  the  Village  of  Whitesboro  the 
remainder  of  the  "public  green  "  in  this  Village,  not  embraced  in  your 
recent  donation  to  the  town  of  Whitestown  and  village  of  Whitesboro  con- 
jointly, was  duly  received,  and  has  been  submitted  to  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
wlio  have  been  pleased  to  authorize  me  to  inform  you  of  their  acceptance  of 
your  valuable  donation,  on  the  conditions  named.  And  I  now  have  the 
pleasure  of  tendering  you,  for  myself,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Trustees,  our 
thanks  and  most  respectful  consideration,  for  this  renewed  expression  of 
your  liberality. 

Your  opinion  of  the  intention  of  your  ancestor,  the  Hon.  Hugh  White, 
Sen.,  is  undoubtedly  correct.  It  is  evident  that  his  purpose  was  to  make 
the  donation  of  this  plot  of  ground  to  the  public  irrevocable;  but  the  tech- 
nicalities of  the  law  having,  under  existing  circumstances,  rendered  that 
conveyance  equivocal,  it  remained  for  you ,  a  beneficent  descendant  of  that 
honored  patriarch,  to  consummate  his  generous  purpose. 

Permit  me,  sir,  to  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity,  in  behalf  of  the  Trus- 
tees and  citizens  of  Whitesboro,  to  welcome  you  from  long  public  service 
abroad,  back  to  your  native  town ;  where,  I  hope,  you  will  find  your  future 
residence  pleasant  and  agreeable  to  yourself  and  family,  and  which  your 
repeated  benefactions  for  the  public  g.  lod  have  rendered  you  so  worthy  to 
enjoy.  I  am,  sir,  most  respectfully, 

Your  Very  Obedient  Servant. 

WHITING  SMITH. 
President  of  the  Village  of  Whitesboro. 


Whitesboro,  Sept.  24,  1876, 
To  Hon.  Philo  White: 

Sir  :  Your  communication,  under  date  of  June  24th,  to  the  Town  Board 
of  the  town  of  Whitestown,  proifering  to  the  town  the  gift  of  a  SAFE,  for 
the  safe-keeping  of  records  in  Whitestown  Hall,  was  this  day  laid  before 
the  Board  in  session.  The  Board  unanimously  voted  to  receive  the  gift,  and 
adopted  the  following  expression  of  thanks: 

Wliereas,  Our  distinguished  townsman,  Hon.  Philo  White,  in  continunace 
of  the  great  liberality  which  has  ever  characterized  his  course  toward  his 
fellow  citizens,  as  manifested  in  the  gift  of  a  Town  Hall  and  site,  and  other- 
wise, has  now  tendered  to  the  town  the  gift  of  a  Safe  for  the  use  of  the  Town 
Hall— 

Resolved,  That  in  accepting  the  gift  on  behalf  of  the  Town,  we,  on  the 
same  behalf,  return  to  the  donor  our  most  hearty  and  sincere  thanks  for  his 
very  useful  and  generous  gift,  in  the  hope  that  the  remembrance  of  his  lib- 
erality may  remain  in  the  memory  of  his  fellow  citizens  as  enduring  as  are 
the  gifts  he  has  bestowed. 

Bv  direction,  I  hereby  tender  to  you  this  copy  of  the  resolution  of  the 
Board.  8.  B.  WATERS,  Clerk. 


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